Bonded

Chapter Thirty Six and a Half

Isaac hurried through the brush, trying to make it to the meet up spot just a little bit sooner. He heard the rushing of water from the creek as he approached and pushed himself to go even faster. 

Isaac burst into the clearing and saw Danny casually relaxing on top of the giant rock, already waiting for him.

“Aww… man,” Isaac complained in between breaths. “You… beat me… again.” 

“I got more done at school today than you,” Danny said, grinning down at Isaac. “You should've come over and let me help you with your homework.” 

“I'm faster when we're not together,” Isaac pouted. “You always end up helping me with everything, and we never have time to play after.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “You're only faster because you don't care if you get half of them wrong. I'm going to end up having to help you with it tomorrow anyway.”

Isaac huffed as he sat on the ground and started to take off his shoes and socks. “Yeah but that's during school tomorrow and not right now so who cares,” he argued as he got up and walked barefoot in the shallow creek edge.

Danny watched as he splashed around a few times. “Is it still cold?” he asked. 

“Yeah, a little,”’ Isaac answered as a shiver ripped through him. 

Danny laid back on the rock with his arms folded behind his head. He listened as Isaac continued to play and splash around in the water, running up and down the side of the creek. 

After a while, Isaac climbed up onto the rock beside his friend. “I decided that I'm gonna learn how to swim this summer.” 

Danny cracked one eye open. “I'll teach you,” he agreed, “but it's too cold right now. We should wait till the water's warmed up. We can go down by the Perterson’s where it’s not as deep.” 

Isaac scrunched up his face. "If we wait until it’s any nicer, the creek will be crowded. I don't want everybody to see me learning with all the little kids.”

“Who cares,” Danny chuckled. “Everyone already knows you can’t swim cause you were the only older kid who stayed out of the water all last summer.”

“I heard them laughing at me last year.” Isaac frowned. “I don’t want them laughing at me again this summer too.”

Danny turned his head and looked up at Isaac properly. “I can teach you early in the morning before any of the other kids come out. We can set an alarm and everything.”

Isaac winced. He hated getting up early during summer. It ruined the whole point of being out of school. “How long does it take to learn?”

“It depends,” Danny said with a shrug. 

“On what?”

“On whether or not you're still scared,” Danny answered. “It could take all summer if you’re as scared as you were last year.”

Isaac pouted. “How long did it take you to learn?” he asked, sounding a little unsure.

Danny was silent, his eyes glazing over as he contemplated his answer. 

“A day,” he eventually said. 

Isaac’s mouth hung open. “Why can’t I learn to swim in a day?”

“We’re different,” Danny insisted. “A’s learn differently from B’s.”

Isaac frowned. Danny had been copying his parents a lot lately in saying that he was an A, even though he didn't know for sure yet. Most people paid to find out really young but for those like them, without insurance or money, they were forced to wait a few years for funded testing. By then the child was old enough that their type was usually pretty much obvious.